Safety device for machine elements



c. H.MORROW.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MACHINE ELEMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTTZ, I9I9.

1,369,832, Patented Mar. 1, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATeNT OFFICE.v

CLARENCE HERBERT MORROW. oFcLnvnLANn, omo, AssIsNon To THE NATIONALFOBMETAL COMPANY', or CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO.

'f i sAFE'rv'nnvIcn non MACHINE ELnMENTs.

` Applicationy filed September To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, 'CLARENCE HERBERT Monnow, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland,-in the countyof Cuya hoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented a eer# tain new and useful Improvement in Safety Devices forMachine Elements, of which. the following is a full, clear, f andexactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. f f

This invention relates to safety devices for machinery and/hasspecialreference to a protector fortl'lecxposed end of shafting or*other rotatable ymachine elements which shall prevent casualties due tocontact therewith. It has long been known that the ends of rotatingshafts are particularly deugen ous piecesof machinery, especially if thesame be provided, `as is usually the case, with key ways for'theattachment of pulleys u or the connection of other shafts thereto. fSuch shaft ends will oftentimes seize upon a workmans clothing and causedeath or serious injury, and thiseven though the shaft belocated highabove the floor, since itis frequently necessary for a man to ascend aladder in its vicinity. For this reason the factory inspection andequipment laws and ordinances of most States and municipalities requirethe provision of a guard of some nature for the ends of such rotaryelements, and this in the case of shafting usually takes the form of aframework of scantling or other wooden members whichis at once eX-pensive in construction and unsightly in appearance. y

The objects of the present invention are the provision of a shieldingdevice, for such rotatable elements, which shall be light, simple,attractive, serviceable, cheap and easily applied and removed, and whichshall not impede the attachment of other pieces of machinery thereto;the provision of a simple and self-contained device which can beproduced as an article of manufacture and employedy in allinstallations; while other o bjects and advantages of my invention wlllbecome apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawing accompanying and forining a part 0f this application, Ihave shown one embodiment of my said `invention together with oneinstance of its application to rotary mechanical element although 1twill be understood thatI restrict myself neither to this oneconstruction, nor to this one ini Specification of Letters Patent.

` Patented Mar.1,1921.

27, 1919. Serial No. 326,767.

stance of use. In these drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a line shaftprovided with a safety devicerof my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection through a preferred construction of safety device; Fig. 3 isabottom plan View of the device shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the separated elements of said device prior toassembling. Y My improved safety device comprises essentially an innerpart and an outer part rotatably connected together, the inner partbeing adapted for attachment to the rotating element-and the outer partconstituting a shield therefor. In the present embodiment, the innerpart consists of a metal cup having a substantially cylindricalside-wall l and a flat circular bottom-wall 2 formed with al centralaperture 3 and joined to the side wall by an annular inclined raceway 4.This part is preferably made from sheet metal by a simpledrawingoperation, and in the present embodiment I have shown the angleof the raceway 4 as varying from point to point constituting a concavegroove.

The outer member in the present embodiment comprises a slightly largercup having a cylindrical wall 5 and a fiat circular bot` tom 6 khaving acentral hole7 smaller than and coaxial with the aperture 3, the bottomand sides constituting a complementary ballrace 8. Between the twoportions constitue ing the raceway, I have illustrated anti frictionballs 10, and to hold the two mem bers together, I have illustrated arivet, having a body portion l1 fitting loosely in the aperture 3, witha head .12 atone end Overlying interiorly'the bottom 2 and with areduced shank 13 at its opposite end passing snugly through the hole 7and upset as shown at la to engage permanently the bottom 6. It willthus be seen that the rivet turns with the outer cup.

In use, this device is merely pressed upon the end of the machineelement, which it is desired to protect, such as the shaft l5 shown inFig. 1. The device is made up complete as an article of manufacture tobe kept in stock and sold as a unit. The number of customary sizes ofshaft is not large and the variation between different shafts of thesame approximate size is very small, wherefore there is very littledifficulty in applying the device. In order to compensate for slightdifferences between shafts, I sometimes taper slightly the Walls of cupl or forni such ivalls `ivith corrugations such as the bosses 16. Such adevice can be made and sold at a prot at a price much less than thatrequired to construct a Jframework and will be found equally eiiicaciousin pre venting accidents, inasmuch as contact With the external cup willmerely arrest the ro tation of the latter Without the development of anysuch degree of torceI as to incur danger. The device can be removedinstantly it desired to connect any other. shaft or element thereto.

I do not restrict myself to the employment of inner and outer members otthe exact shape here shown7 or to the interposition of ball-bearings orother anti-frictional means therebetween, or in any other ivay except asrecited in my claims since I am aivare that many changes in detail canbe made Within the scope or my invention.

IIaving thus described my invention what I claim is:

l. A saiety deif'ice ier rotating machineclements comprising, incombination, an inner member adapted to be attached to such element, andan outer shielding 4member rotatably connected to said inner member at apoint coincident with the longitudinal axis of said machine element.

2. safety device for rotating machineelements comprising. incombination, an inner member adapted to be attached to such element, anouter shielding member embracing said inner members and means includingan anti-friction bearing whereby said members are secured rotatablytogether.

3. A safety device for rotating machineelements comprising, incombination, a

metal cup adapted for application to such 40 element7 a second cupoverlapping the same and coaxial therewith, and means pivoting said cupstogether upon their common axis, said pivot point coinciding with thelongitudinal axis of said machine element.

4. As an article ot manufacture, a pair o'l sheet metal cups located onewithin the other and having substantially cylindrical walls spacedslightly from each other and turned in the same direction7 meansengaging the bottoms of said cups and holding the same againstseparation7 and anti-friction means between the bottoms of said cups,prevent ing undue approach toward each other.

5. In a device of this character described, an inner and an outer metalcup, the inner cup having a substantially cylindrical wall, and aflat,circular bottom having a central aperture and connected to said wall byan annular sloping portion constituting a ball race, the outer cuphaving a substantially cylindrical wall overlying and spaced `from thefirst Wall, and a fiat circular bottom having a central hole smallerthan said aperture, anti-friction balls in said race, and a headed rivetloosely traversing said aperture and rigidly seated in said hole.

6. As an article of manufacture and sale a safety shield for rotatingmachine elements comprising a member adapted to be detachably connectedto the machine element and to rotate therewith, and a second memberpermanently but rotatably connected to the irst member at a pointcoincident with the axis of the machine element.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiix my signature.

CLARENCE HERBERT MORROW.

